Automatic camera



Sept. 6, 1938. w. R GOEHNER AUTOMATIC CAMERA Filed Dec. 24, 1956 5Sheets-Sheet l UVVEVVTOR y WR. GOEHNER i mt dak TTOEMHTV p 1938- w. R.GOEHNER 2,129,001

AUTOMATIC CAMERA Filed Dec. 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR m R.GOEHNER iH-N' di:

AT TORNEV Sept. 6, 1938. w R, GOEHNER 2,129,001

AUTOMAT IC CAMERA Filed Dec. 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

//v VENFOR W R. 6 0E H/VE R By GXMM T TORNE Y Patented Sept. 6, 1938UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,129,001 AUTOMATIC CAMERA ApplicationDecember 24, 1936, Serial No. 117,484

2 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic cameras for making photographicrecords.

The object of the invention is an improvement in the illumination of thefield of the camera.

A feature of the" invention isv the provision of opaque vignettingscreens having rectangular comb-like projections so located as todifiuse the light coming from the two sides of the field.

Automatic cameras for making photographic records of the readings ofmeters are well known and one such camera is disclosed in U. S. Patent1,963,095, June 19, 1934, W. H. Petit and E. S. Hineline' The presentinvention is an improvement upon such cameras to provide a more evendistribution of the light in the field of the camera and to render theoperation of the camera easier and more convenient.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken on the center line of the camera;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view in part section;

Fig. 3 is a simplified diagrammatic plan view showing the illuminationof the field; and

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the opaque screen.

Similar reference numerals in the various figures indicate the sameparts.

The camera comprises a body portion 1 to the invention is not limited tothis particular use. Message registers for counting the number of callsto be charged against a telephone line have been used for many years inthe telephone industry and are of the general design shown in Fig. 185,page 201, Telephone Theory and Practice, Manual Switching and SubstationEquipment, by Kempster B. Miller, published in 1933 by McGraw-Hill BookCompany, New York. The message registers are placed side by side in rowson 'a mounting plate and a number of plates may be mounted verticallyabove each other in one bay of the mounting rack. In the present camerathe hood 2 is designed to normally enclose twenty-five message registerswithin the registers so as to align the camera upon the desired group oftwenty-five message registers.

The lamps 8, 8 placed on both sides of the axis of the camera illuminatethe faces of the message registers. The light is reflected from thefaces of the message registers along the axis of the camera to themirror 9 and is reflected by the mirror 9 through the lens and shutter10 to the sensitive film H, thus producing a latent image on the film II. The film may conveniently be in the form of a long strip of papercoated with a sensitive emulsion and wound upon the familiar film spool.The film compartment is in the lower rear portion of the body of thecamera. The walls of the film compartment are hinged to the body of thecamera and are normally held in position by fiat spring catches. Byreleasing the catches the film compartment may be opened and the reel offilm placed in position in the compartment.

Power from an alternating or direct current supply circuit of to 120volts is conducted through the usual cord to an external motor resistorand thence through a cord to a plug inserted in a receptacle fixed inthe body of the camera.

.The driving motor I1 is mounted upon a gear box 48 and is connected tothe power supply of the camera by a cord and plug. A worm mounted on theshaft of the motor is removably connected to the gear train of thecamera so that the motor may be independently removed for repair orreplacement.

The operating cycle of the present camera is generally similar to thatdisclosed in U. S. Patent 1,963,095, and is timed by the motor drivengears and cams contained in the compartment l8. All of the cams andgears are mounted upon 'and contained within two mounting plates l9 and20 mounted upon the body of the camera. The drive shaft projects throughthe wall of the film compartment and is formed into a driving elementwhich fits into a socket in the film reel. Thus, the entire gear and camassembly may be removed as a unit for repair or replacement.

After the film is threaded through the camera, the power circuit isplugged into some convenient power supply. The current fiows through thelamps 8, 8 in series with a pilot lamp 2|. The lamps ii, 8 are four innumber, two being placed on each side of the axis of the hood and may below voltage lamps, such as used in automobile headlights. The pilotlamps 2| may be a 15 watt, volt lamp. Thus, when the current flowsthrough the lamps 8, 8 and 2| in series.

thelamp 2| willlighttosubstantlallymllbrilliancy, and thelamps8,8willbewarmandin condition to respond rapidly to an increase in thecurrent. The lamp 2i miles a convenientgeneralilluminationtoasslstinalignlngthe hood 2 on a desired group ofregisters.

The operator closes the motor control switch 22 (Fig. 2) and presses thepush switch il conveniently located near the right handle I. The motorI'I starts up and drives the gear train throughonecyclethusreelinguptheleaderofthe film.Thisprocedurelsrepeatedunfllthefilm is advanced enough to bring thesensitive area under the lens Ill, when a film Open-ted switch 24(Pig. 1) lights the exposure lamp 25 (Fig, 2), which may be viewedthrough the peep hole It covered withered glass. The camera is thenready for use.

Thehood Iisalignedonadmiredgroupof registers and the push switch 21 ispressed. The

motor il starts driving the gear train. Acamin the gear train operates aswitch, wired in parallel with the switch 2!, to hold the motor circuitclosed. Another cam operates a second switch which places a shunt ofsuitable resistance around the lamp 2|, permitting the lamps I, I tolight to full brilliancy, and pulls down the rod 21 opening the shutterll.

After the interval required for the exposure, usually about one second,the cam operates the rod 21 to close the shutter II, and opens theswitch to remove the short circuit from the lamp 2|. During the exposureperiod, the film II is prevented from moving by a locking lever thatholds the measuring roll though the motor [1 is continually driving aslipping clutch on the shaft of the reel. At the end of the exposure, acam trips the locking lever and permits the measuring roll to make onerevolution. This permits the slipping clutch to drive the reel and windup the exposed filrn, thus drawing an unexposed area into the field ofthe lens II. the motor switch and stops the motor.

The lamps l, I are located on each side of the axisofthe camera,withtheaxisofthelamps 8,8 placed horizontally and inclined at an angle totheaxisofthecamera. Bylocatingthelampsl, I withtheaxis ofthe lampsatanangletotheaxis of the camera, their filaments may lie in a planeparalleltotheaxlsofthecameraandarerespectively brought to a positionnormal to the direction of the useful beam of light from the lamp thusincreasing the illumination of the field, and producing a more uniformfield.

Individual condenser lenses ll, 18 mounted in universally adjustablemountings are located in front of each lamp 8, 8. In a preferredembodiment of the invention, the lenses 2|, 28 were simple plane-convexlenses of 10 dioptrlcs, thus having a focal length of about 4 inches.The filaments of the lamps i, I were located about 2 inches from thelenses ll, 2|, thus producing a diverging beam of light directed on thefield of the camera. The lamps l, I are sufficiently uniform that an oldlamp may be replaced by a new lamp without disturbing the focus of thelenses 2|, 28.

The field of the cameraisilluminated by lamps 8.!locatedonbothsidesoftheaxisofthecamera,thus,asshowninFigs.2and3,therewillbe Thecamthenopens a sonelnthecenterotthefleld where the two11- luminations overlap. Opaque vignetting screens 2| areplacedoneachside ofthe camera infrontofthelensesll.andaresopositionedastosubstantlally reduce theillumination in this region of overlap. As shown in Fig. 4, the screenshave rectangular, comb-like projections which break up the light in theregion of overlap. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, theprojections were about inch long, spaced on inch centers and the teethwere about inch wide, thus obscuring about one 1uarter of the light. Theimproved illumination may be due to the use of a screen havingcomparatively long projections of small width so that a large number ofprojections are required to cover the field. The above dimensions aremerely illustrative of a practical embodiment of the invention and donot in any way limit the scope of the invention'to the particular valuesstated.

In the known cameras, the interior of the hood 2 was arranged to breakup and diffuse the light, and was therefore painted with flat whitepaint or with a soft black paint. The stray light falling on the surfaceof the hood was thus absorbed or diffusely reflected in all directions.Such an 11- luminatiozn has been foimd to be unsuited for thephotography of meters, such as the message register, which have a glasscover plate, as the random distribution of the light will contain rayswhich are reflected from the glass and cause an obscuring flare in thephotograph. Also, in meters of this type, the figures of the meter arelocated some distance behind the cover plate, and some of the light mustbe impressed on the meter at an angle so that the figures in the cornerswill be fully illuminated. At the same time, the rays of light must beat such an angle that they will not be reflected from the surfaces ofthe glass cover into the camera and so cause flare.

In order to overcome this dimculty, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, theinterior of the hood 2 is covered by an adjustable specular reflectingsurface, which may have the form of the polished metal mirrors II, whichmay be angularly adjusted by the screws and lock nuts II; The mirrors 30are preferably placed on all four interior surfaces of the hood 2.

The improved illumination is thus produced by four features,

(1) The angular location of the lamps;

(2) The condenser lenses;

(3) The comb-like vignetting screens; and

(4) The specular reflectors.

Each of these features by itself will give improved results and anycombination of the features may be used to give improved results, thebest results being obtained when all four features are used.

What is claimed is:

1. In a camera of the class described, a hood enclosing the field of thecamera, means for 11-- luminating the field of said camera comprising aplurality of light sources, and a plurality of opaque vignettlng screenshaving rectangular comblike projections, located between said sourcesand said field, the projections diffusing the light projected on thecentral area of the field.

2. The combination in claim 1 in which the screens are supported insidethe hood.

- WILLIAM R. GOEHNER.

